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Chinese archaeologists have unearthed a pit believed to be used for ancient ritual sacrifice at the largest and best-preserved primitive village in China.
The pit was discovered at the new Banpo Site Museum, and alterations will be made to protect the site.
Named Jisikeng, the pit is expected to reveal the sacrifice activity of the Banpo people who lived 5,000 years ago. It has been dug out beneath the planned new site's eastern wall, two meters lower than the horizontal floor.
A columnar stone object 70 centimeters high, buried to a depth of 20 centimeters, was found standing at the center of the pit.
Another two smaller pits and two columnar groundwork relics were found around the stone columns, with more than 40 walnut-size earthenware piled in each of the pits, said Wang Zhijun, deputy director of Xi'an Banpo Site Museum.
The pit was probably a place for sacrifice and the stone columns, named Jisizhu, were used to talk with gods or spirits.
Banpo Site was discovered in Spring 1953 when workers were laying the foundation for a factory building and the Banpo Site Museum was set up in 1958 on the site, about seven kilometers to the east of Xi'an, capital of western China's Shaanxi Province.
(People's Daily June 10, 2003)
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